“Ah, I like this one,” She told him. “I like the male lead. I’ve watched almost every show he has done.”
“Oh!” Hyunwoo made a sound of surprise. “Is he good?”
“I think so,” She offered, and Hyunwoo nodded in acceptance of her opinion. He settled in, leaning a little closer to her as he turned to watch the show again. She looked around at the group and felt her heart warm at the sight of all of them cuddled up or sprawled out with each other, some draped across someone’s lap or with an arm around their shoulder. They were sweet in how comfortable they were just being close with the other members. She had grown up with a lot of friends she would do the same with, but they had mostly been women with most of the guys eschewing close contact with others, especially other guys.
She leaned her head against Cheol’s shoulder and turned her attention to the program, feeling a bit of tension leaving her shoulders. Honestly, she hadn’t expected the other members to be as accepting as it seemed they were. It was a relief they all seemed to be supportive, for Cheol’s sake more than her own. She noticed that a few heads kept turning to peek at them as they got snacks or drinks, trying to discreetly get a read on the couple.
Half way through the first episode, she could feel Cheol begin to nod off beside her.
“Are you tired,” She whispered to him, trying not to disturb the others as she asked.
“No, I’m fine,” He insisted, straightening up in his seat.
“Here,” She scooted a little closer to Hyunwoo to give Cheol the space to lie down with his legs hanging off the arm of the couch and his head on her lap. “Can you still see?”
He nodded and wrapped his arms around one of her thighs, hugging it like a pillow. She began running the fingers of one hand through his hair in a slow soothing motion. He snuggled up and let out a contented sigh, keeping his gaze on the program on the TV. Being able to just be around her like this was the most at ease he had felt in years. Before he knew her, he hadn’t been unhappy, in fact he would have said he was thrilled with where he had gotten to in his life. He had debuted with all of his friends, very successfully. Their music was beloved and they never felt like they didn’t have more to draw from, more to share. Everything had been great, but he realized that the excitement and anticipation he lived with every day, had left him taught like the string on a guitar. He didn’t want any of that to change, but he wanted to also have this kind of peace to enjoy alongside it.
Claire could feel as his breathing became slower and more even, that he was falling asleep, despite his protests. It was fine, she had figured he wasn’t really there because of a deep interest in the series, but, like she guessed for a few others, he was here to be social and be around her and his friends.
The first episode ended and Seunghoon volunteered to start the next one, popping up from his place on the floor in front of the couch. Everyone seemed to be enjoying watching the show and hanging out, taking a little downtime when they could. It was nice to see them taking some time away from their responsibilities, so heavy on their shoulders, Claire thought. She knew they loved what they did, but even when you love what you do, it is good to have time away from it.
They finished the first three episodes, which Cheol managed to sleep through completely, despite the laughter and commentary of the other members of the group. She was actually impressed with his ability to rest so peacefully even surrounded by such a happy ruckus. It was already sometime after eleven when the episode ended and she suggested that she ought to go home sooner rather than later. Hyunwoo, among others, volunteered to watch just one more episode to which she smiled and promised to come back later in the week so that they could watch a few more. She was, however, still pinned down by the sleepy blond head nestled in her lap. With a smile she ran the backs of her fingers along his cheek, pondering the possibility of waking him up. She felt a bit bad disturbing him, but it was already getting late.
“Cheol,” She said softly, giving his shoulder a light shake. “I think it’s time for me to head home.”
“Mmph,” He grumbled in his sleep, burying his face further in her lap and squeezing his eyes shut.
“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” She suggested, as he was clearly tired. She attempted to slide out from under him, only to have him grip her leg tighter and readjust his position on her lap. Maybe five more minutes, she thought to herself.
“Having a bit of trouble?” FX came over and asked with an amused grin.
“A little,” She admitted. “I feel bad waking him up when he looks so…serene.”
“Eh, don’t worry,” FX waved away her concerns. “He just sleeps like a rock.”
“Still,” She chuckled, gently rubbing Cheol’s back to hopefully slowly bring him around.
“Hey, Hyung,” FX knelt down and addressed the man sleeping in her lap, giving his shoulder a shake. “Hyung, come one, Claire-nim has to go home now.”
“Huh?” Cheol finally opened his eyes a bit, but clearly not all there yet.
“Claire-nim has to go home, now,” FX repeated. “It’s getting late.”
“Claire is leaving?” Cheol suddenly sat up, bolt straight. “Wha-”
“Whoa,” Claire grabbed his wrist as he looked around in half asleep confusion. “I haven’t left yet. I just needed to get up.”
“Why are you going? I thought we were going to watch something,” He asked her, wondering where everyone had gone.
“We did, sweetheart,” She told him softly. “You just fell asleep.”
“Oh,” He rubbed his eyes and paused. “What time is it?”
“Well, now it’s about 11:30,” Claire checked her watch. “Which is a good time for me to head home and go to sleep.”
“Do you have to go?” He asked, putting a hand on her arm.
“Yeah,” She patted his hand. “Do you want to see me to the door?” He nodded and stood up with her, taking slow swaying steps towards the door. Cheol put a hand on the small of her back as they made their way. Touching her was a comfort and a temptation that he couldn’t resist. It wasn’t even conscious, when she was there he reached for her as if he had to know that she was really there.
“Sleep well, okay?” He held her hands, swinging them gently as he spoke.
“You too,” She raised up on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck. “I’ll message you when I get home to let you know I got there safe.”
“Okay,” He leaned in and gave her a slightly longer kiss.
“And I’ll see you soon,” She started putting her shoes and jacket on while Cheol held her things for her. “Clean yourself up and go to bed. You are clearly still tired.”
“I will,” He handed her the bag he had been holding and reached out to flatten the collar of her jacket.
“You can message me before you go to sleep if you want,” She offered. “I’ll be going to sleep soon too.”
Cheol nodded and pulled her into a tight hug. “Take care of yourself.” She nodded and gave him a kiss on his cheek before pulling away and slipping out the door. He stood in the doorway and watched until she disappeared around the corner.
***
Over the next few weeks Claire spent an increasing amount of time at the dorms with all the members. Cheol figured out the more discrete places he could pull Claire into where he could kiss her with less of a chance of being interrupted by any of his housemates, but, much to his frustration, was never really able to indulge himself with her as there really were just too many people around. When she came over after work she often made time to eat with the members who were home, helping them prepare healthier meals.
Claire continued meeting with all of the members individually at the offices at KXO and got everyone involved in the practice sessions and in helping the members with weaker English in practicing in general. Most of the members now met with her a couple of times a week, as individual students, as part of a group working on interview preparations, or for both. When she was around the atmosphere became a mess of Kor-Engli
sh chat as they all spoke in whatever language they could find to express themselves. Claire was learning more Korean from all this, with the help of Cheol who was often the first to notice when she got lost in a conversation. The other members, for their part, seemed more willing to try saying things in English and also enjoyed the odd anecdotes and trivia Claire would often slip into their conversations, even if they didn’t always follow everything.
The week after Changho’s horror movie pick, Hyunwoo was chosen as the star student and he had chosen half a day of watching more K-drama, which was enough time to finish the series that they had started. Everyone came to that with the exception of Seunghoon who had to film a segment on the day that worked best that week. The end of the series actually got relatively hot and heavy for a K-drama, with the main characters doing much more than kissing, even if they didn’t really show it on the screen. Claire forgot who she was watching with and gave a suggestive woo hoo when the male lead took off his shirt during one of the heavier make out sessions in the show causing everyone else to break into laughter.
The week after that was short and filled largely with preparations for the trip planned for the end of the week. The members still managed to get in the time they needed in order to fulfill her requirements and even a little more since they would be doing some of their first on camera interviews during the trip. Wonjung had actually made a noticeable effort to work on things he was feeling especially unsure on and so was allowed to choose the next reward activity, which would, sadly, have to wait until they returned from their week and a half long trip to the US where they would take part in A-Con, an asian music and entertainment convention which was happening in New York. They would spend a few days at the con doing panels and other activities along with the press and a fan meet before they toured in a few American cities, where they would also do fan meets and small appearances. In all they would be away for nine days, including the days they mostly spent on planes leaving and coming back to Korea.
The group was abuzz with excitement, even Cheol, though he was also anxious to be leaving Claire for so long. He knew it wasn’t the longest he would have to be away, or the last time, but it felt especially painful as it was the first. Much to his frustration, it had also been difficult to find time to spend with her in the week leading up to the trip. He had extra practice and extra responsibilities as the leader and she was busy working with other members who actually needed her help…not just her. He was able to message with her and see her during an evening or two, but it was frustratingly little in his opinion.
As they boarded the plane to head to New York, Cheol sent a quick last message to Claire.
Stay safe and I can’t wait until I get back. Watch the VTube I’m going to do on Sunday if you can. Just say something in the comments so I know you are there. XOXO
After checking to make sure that the message was sent, he turned his phone off and tucked it into a side pocket of his backpack carryon. Thankfully they were flying in business class and they all had plenty of space to lounge in their little compartments over the long flight. It was the first time many of them were going to be going to the US. Kitae was markedly excited about the whole trip, enjoying his window seat on the other side of the aisle from Cheol, thrilled as he pushed buttons just to see what they did and watched the tiny world pass by underneath them.
Cheol kept himself busy over the flight, working on some compositions and going over some lyrics that Jaejin and Changho had written for a couple of the mostly finished pieces they thought would go on the next album. Changho was seated in the next seat, which could be connected when they lowered the partition between them. They spent a few hours listening to songs and working together on the arrangements before they both decided to take a break and see if they could nap.
They touched down in New York and were immediately rushed from the airport to their hotel to get ready for their first event, scheduled only a few hours after their landing. Hair, make-up, and wardrobe were waiting for them on location in a large dressing room which was, as always, a controlled sort of chaos. Hair dressers and make up artists flitted from one person to another as they got everybody prepared. Everybody had clothes that fitted the red, black, and white color theme they had decided on, while also letting them express their personality through their style. Cheol had kept his more casual western fashion style while FX and Minjun, for example, chose more cutting edge styles. Changho chose something in almost all black, with only minor accents in red, which fitted him well. Hyunwoo, on the opposite side, chose clothing mostly in white and red, with only a few black accessories.
The first event, an A-Con panel for the hot new band, went well and all the members felt confident enough to participate, at least some, directly in English, much to the pleasure of the fans. It only lasted an hour and seemed, to most of the members, to pass all too quickly. They loved the moments when they could interact with their fans.
At the end of the evening they got to have a dinner out at a real American diner. The members could not have been more excited to try different burgers, sides, and, of course, deserts listed on the menu. Many of the members took photos of their food and the fun diner decor to post to the group’s social media sites. Cheol snapped a few photos of himself and the other members and sent them to Claire, knowing she probably wouldn’t see them for a few hours given the time difference between here and back home.
Everyone ecstatically planned activities for their semi-downtime tomorrow afternoon. They would be touring some local sites and filming the missions and explorations. They planned to visit the Statue of Liberty, taking the ferry there and back, before their evening performances at A-Con. They could fit in some shopping at the gift shop on Liberty Island, get little things for themselves or friends back home. There would be lots of time shooting with their travel cams and lots of running around like kids. It would be a blast.
That night at the hotel they all went to their rooms to change back into their own comfortable attire before gathering in Cheol and Wonjung’s room to do a VTube video to greet their fans and get some buzz around their upcoming events. They set up a camera on the top of the TV and had a few phones out to see the comments and started a livestream, one of the best ways they had to interact with their fans directly.
They got online just after nine at night New York time and started updating their fans on what they have been up to and their plans for the next week. Cheol started scanning the comments to find questions and comments which they could answer when a name caught his eye. He could tell that he wasn’t the only one who caught the name among the comments as a few sounds of delight and surprise came from some of the others.
Claire Faroe YTH: Hope you are all having fun on your trip!
“We are having a great time so far, thank you,” Cheol replied into the camera, waving with a friendly half grin. Others murmured in agreement and gave quick greetings of their own. It was all inconspicuous to anyone watching, just like any other fan interaction they might have had unless you knew. They finished up the livestream relatively quickly, making it only about 20 minutes, as they had to go to sleep to be functional for all their activities tomorrow. All the members returned to their own rooms and tried to get to sleep in spite of their jet lag and general excitement to be in new places.
Cheol took his phone to the bed with him as he slipped under the covers.
(남자친구, boyfriend; 자기야, darling; 보고 싶어, 애인, I miss you, sweetheart)
(내 여자 친구, my girlfriend)
(자기야, darling: 애인, sweetheart)
Cheol plugged in his phone and turned over with a sigh in the dark room. Sleep came quickly after his long day. For Claire, it was easy to keep busy even just catching up on her work from home. This was just a small trip compared to what they would be doing in a few months. This trip was really a tester for the official tour they would be doing in the spring. The schedule was still being finalized but it was going to be at least 8 cities in Europe, and s
ix in the US. They would only be gone for three weeks, twice as long as this trip, but the schedule would be much more intense, and with luck, they would also have a lot more press. A-Con was a great platform to get their faces and names out there and hopefully sell some tickets.
The company was keeping a close eye on their performances at A-Con and their other appearances and giving her feedback on what weaknesses they were expecting her to address with the members before their big tour. This was their dress rehearsal and her first evaluation. Not that she had been given much time with the members, but any evidence of improvement would look positive. It was nice the Cheol had messaged her saying that he felt that some members had done better than they had before. Hopefully the company felt the same.
The days of the trip were so filled with activities for all of the members, that time passed at lightning speed. Everyone was getting even more excited for their upcoming tour which would bring them back to the US and take them to new places in Europe. Many of the members had never visited Europe at all before this and were excited to see how different it was compared to Asia and the little bit of the US they had now visited. By the time they stepped on the flight back to Seoul, they were already anticipating their next trip. Doing things at home was always fun but it was great to step out and see that their influence was really reaching beyond the borders of their small nation. Even if their hearts were in South Korea, having a global impact meant so much.
Their flight home came into Seoul at six in the evening and Cheol could not have been more eager to get off the plane. The trip had been fun and he had loved every minute that he had had with his bandmates and the fans but there was something he had missed during his trip. Somewhere out in the city she was waiting for him, she just didn’t know it yet.
The drivers took them back to the dorms and helped them cart their piles of luggage inside before shuffling off to other work and leaving all the members with their first unmonitored free time in a long while. The company, as they usually did, gave them a few days completely off before they were expected to show up for the regular schedule of activities. Usually members ended up coming in anyway, at least for a few hours, even the day after their return. None of them were particularly comfortable with inactivity, so the free time was more of a way for them to do their own practice without having to match the schedule of the company or others for a day.
The Tutor Page 12